Unorthodox Training
by LadySaxophone
Summary: Emperor Palpatine takes over at an earlier time. Now, there's a Senator who's really more of a double agent, a confused young teenager trying decide between light and dark, and a grieved General trying to lead a much larger Rebellion. -Rating may change-
1. Missing

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Wars...hopefully along the course of this story I'll come up with more creative ways to say that, but I'm too tired right now, sorry. :/

* * *

"Lord Vader has gone missing again."

Lord. As if the little snot even knew the implications of that title. Anakin is a brash fifteen-year-old with an amount of anger the old Jedi Order would have deemed 'disturbing'. He is unorthodox, disobediant, and impulsive. Nothing about the boy has earned him the title "Lord".

And he's missing again? Does the boy _enjoy _Force Lightning? Does he get some sort of kick out of disloyalty? It isn't as if Dooku is leniant whenever his apprentice chooses to disappear. What is the allure? He doesn't understand.

In fact, there are alot of things he doesn't understand about Anakin. The boy has no dignity. He is a paradox: lusting after his own power, yet terribly insecure, possessing a truly awesome amount of raw anger, but feeling the need to love and be loved. The boy is a nuisance.

"Why not simply let him go, Master?" He inquires, because if he absolutely has to train a Sith apprentice, one who'll more than likely take his place, he'd rather not train Anakin. "He is obviously more trouble than he's worth. I don't see the wisdom in investing any more time in an apprentice who doesn't value his training."

Without warning, a bout of Lightning ignites his bones and forces him to his knees. He bites back a cry of pain with sheer willpower. After what feels like an eternity, Sidious lowers his hands and goes back to his eerily calm facade.

"How fortunate, for me to have an apprentice who feels the need to advise me." He drawls, as though amused by the fact that Dooku even has the audacity to speak.

"Forgive me, Master" he grinds out through clenched teeth, still on his knees and not looking up.

"You err in your judgement, Lord Tyranous. That boy will be our ultimate weapon."'

A weapon. But a weapon in the hand of whom? Certainly not him. Although the Rule of Two has been officially disregarded, there have still never been more than two Sith. One of them has always been Palpatine, and one will always be his favorite. Maul. Xanatos. Dooku has been that favorite through them all. But now with Vader, he's not so sure. In Sidious' eyes, Tyranous is beginning to believe, Vader has unlimited potential to be the greatest Sith Lord of all time.

He is training his own destruction.

But perhaps it doesn't have to be that way. He is not strong enough to take down Palpatine, but perhaps Anakin is. Could grow to be. And when he has destroyed Sidious, Dooku will destroy Anakin. He's not more powerful than Vader is, but he is infinitely more cunning. Taking down Vader would be mere child's play.

And the empire, the galaxy, could be his.

"As you wish, my Master. I will find him."

XXXX

This is, by far, the absolute worst plan Anakin has ever been apart of.

"Relax, Ani." His companion tells him, "We're going to be perfectly fine. We'll be long gone before they even realize we're missing."

Oh right. Because Sith Lords are a really unobservant lot and would never notice the disappearance of their apprentice. Master probably already had Clone squadrans out scouring the galaxy for him. The very thought makes him want to turn back, even knowing the punishment he'll face.

"I can't do this, Padme" he tells her desperately. Maybe she'll see she's fighting a loosing battle and give up. Part of him wants her to, for her own good, the other part is terrified of what will happen to him when she does. "They'll find me."

Seemingly uneffected by his despair, she stares straight ahead, delicately picking her way through the underlevels of Corusant.

"I already took you to three different medcenters. You aren't harboring any tracking devices on or in your person, and the Rebellion is full of Force-sensitives that'll be able to shield your Force-signature. You won't betray our location." She finally turns to look him in the eye, and just like the first time he met her, he finds himself falling into their depths, "You have to trust me, alright?"

He nods and they continue their journey in silence. Both a bit ill at ease. After all, a Senator and a Sith Apprentice are escaping Corusant and running to one of the elusive Rebel Bases. But Padme's done this plenty of times, he reminds himself. She's a spy. A professional.

But she's never had to escape with a Sith tagging along. No matter how hard he tries, he always seems to put her in danger. Even when he's trying to help her.

They enter a library of all places, really little more than a shack with a few databases spread haphazardly in the various corners. Despite it's location and size the place is unscrupulously clean, and an old woman is sitting at the head of it all, absurdly like a queen on her throne. Padme wordlessly hands the old librarian a datachip. After entering it in the computer, the gnarled old woman reveals (to Padme only) the coordinates to the docking bay of their ship on a piece of flimsi. Padme stares at it, and then apparently memorizes it as the woman takes it back and burns it. She doesn't take her sharp eyes off Anakin.

"It's alright, Jocasta. He's with me."

"He had better be, _dear_" She spits out the word "dear" like one would spit the word "harlot" or "scum". Padme simply nods and takes off, leaving Anakin to trail like a youngling behind her.

"She didn't trust me."

Padme's face closes off the way he's noticed it does when she's most worried about something. Her pretty features slack into an emotionless mask.

"You didn't tell them." he guesses.

"I told her somethings." Padme defends

"You didn't tell them I've been helping you. Been helping _them._" It's obvious that if their contact is so distrustful, the entire Rebellion Movement will be downright hostile.

"I didn't think they'd believe me."

They arrive at a deserted landing pad not far from the library. There's only the one ship, although there's definately room enough for two. It's too late to turn back now. He sinks to the floor and puts his head in his hands.

"They'll kill me."

Compassion steals over Padme's stoic face,

"No they won't, Ani."

"I'm a Sith Lord!"

He feels her small hand gently rest on his shoulder. No one has ever touched him like this before. Her other hand slips underneath his chin and levels his gaze up to meet hers.

"Were. You _were_ a Sith Lord. You're not one now. They'll see that."

"It's still inside me, Padme! It won't ever leave. I may not want to be apart of it anymore, but that doesn't mean it'll let me go."

"That's why you are coming with me. You were raised this way, but it doesn't mean you have to stay the same." Her eyes never leave his face. She won't back down, he knows she won't. She's not the type.

"Why do you even care? Why didn't you just leave me a Sith?" How he wishes the words didn't come out so harsh! What has she ever done but show him kindness he's never known before?

She seems to understand because she doesn't get angry back.

"Once I learned that you didn't choose this, that you were raised with it, I knew that I had to get you away from them. I always thought there was something decent in you, right from the start. You simply confirmed it by helping me that first time, and then all those times afterwards. Then when you told me of your wish to get away, I couldn't refuse you."

He values this commitment she's showing him. He really does, but he can't indulge in that feeling right now. He'll be ostracized at the very least, and she with him.

"You'll be the only one who believes that."

A slow, smug smile steals its way over Padme's full lips. It's very distracting.

"You'll find, Anakin, that I am quite adept at making people see things from my point of view."

"It won't work, not with so many people." And there will be many. A dictatorship isn't popular.

"That's why I'm not going to do this by myself. I've got friends high up in command. You and I, my friend, are going right up to The General."

"You know The General?" he asks in awe. Padme is a good spy, but not that good. Not that he knew of. The General is a mystery. He's the invisible figure head of the Rebellion, and the brains behind every stealth attack. He is a man shrouded with legend.

A different sort of smile takes dominance over Padme's face, one he hasn't seen before. It's gentle, with a considerable amount of warmth.

"Oh yes. General Kenobi has been my best friend for about as long as I can remember."

* * *

**AN:** Wish me luck! Here I am at the helm of a brand new non-guilty-pleasure AU. (I don't know what it is, but something about Star Wars lends itself soooo well to AUs. More than any other fandom I've ever read fanfictions for). Anyways, _The Life He Deserved_ was a sort of "if only" AU if you know what I mean, and although I'm proud of it, it's not the most creative story. It's actually just something I wanted to see done, but couldn't find on . In any case, this will start a more (hopefully) creative and story-like AU. Simple little question: what if the prequel family members were the ones fighting the Empire?

If you liked it please tell me, if you didn't tell me what bugged you!

In short, please review!


	2. So be it, Vader

He is ridiculously relieved to hear that Padme's coming home. He's missed her, his little confidant. And he was worried, as usual. He worries endlessly when she goes away on missions. Especially her undercover ones. If she's caught and captured, there's absolutely nothing he can do for her. He'll never be able to get her back.

He doesn't like to think about it too much. No one suspects the beautiful young girl from a peaceful planet so she's relatively safe, and frightfully good at playing Senator. She acts coy and studious while in the limelight, soaking up information people don't think to keep from her because she's lured them into thinking she couldn't possibly understand. Yet behind the scenes, whenever she needs to, she can become borderline ruthless in her quest for knowledge of the Empire's doings.

He can't help himself though. After Qui Gon's passing, she is the only one he really feels close to. Oh, there's always Cody or Mace, but Padme...Padme could be his sister.

_The tiny girl stares up at him with watery brown eyes. One little thumb is forcibly shoved in her mouth and the other hand has wrapped itself around Qui Gon's forefinger. And she's a mess: dressed in rags, caked with dirt, and her hair ( she has more than he thinks someone her age should have) is tangled and falling in greasy clumps around her face._

_"I found her among a ruin. She's lucky to be alive."_

_The girl shivers, but doesn't take her wide eyes from Obi Wan. It's a bit disconcerting, that stare, almost as if she's calculating her opinion of him. The look is so misplaced on the face of one so young._

_"Her family must have been accused of rebel activity because Imperials killed them all. She won't speak to me. Probably from the shock. And this lovely black eye was my reward for finding her."_

_She punched Qui Gon? Hard enough to bruise? That's pretty gutsy for a three-year-old, considering the height difference. She still seems wary of Qui Gon, despite the fact that she's chosen to trust him. Maybe it's because he's so much bigger and stronger than she is. Force, everyone else is bigger and stronger than she is. It's probably why she keeps staring at him. He's only thirteen, and still has a boyish look. He's young enough to relate to._

_Very slowly, so as not to startle her, he kneels down in front of her. She shies away a little, but her gaze turns questioning, like she's trying to figure out what he's going to say before he says it._

_"Hello there. My name is Obi Wan. What's yours?"_

_To everyone's astonishment, the soggy thumb slowly slides out of the pink mouth so the little girl can whisper, "Padme."_

He's loved her ever since. She became his little shadow. Qui Gon was very good at making time for both her and Obi Wan, but he was The General then. So that left Obi Wan with the job of caring for Padme whenever he could. He soothed her nightmares, he read her stories, he helped her learn all she could about the Senate, helped train her in self defence, there was nothing he couldn't do for her.

He hates the fact that she's the Rebel's best spy, hates that she spends days, weeks, months on Coruscant in constant danger. He's a protective person by nature, but for her, that protective streak is a mile wide.

So he nearly has a heartattack when she walks into his quarters hand in hand with the Sith's apprentice.

XXXX

Dooku sits crosslegged, ramrod straight, and rests his palms against his knees. Almost as soon as he closes his red eyes he feels the Force wrap him in it's flowing current. As a Jedi, he had called this meditation, had even dealt it out to his padawan as an improving punishment.

The Dark Side surges forward and wraps his brain with it's inky, cold presence, whispering promises of power and control. He sends it's tendrils out over the planet, over the adjacent planet, and keeps going from there.

No trace of Skywalker.

Skywalker and himself have been Master and apprentice for nearly five years. Thier training bond doesn't project thoughts of feelings very well, but the slight cord in the Force should make it all too easy to find his errant "weapon". He almost thinks he feels Anakin before heavy mental shields slam into place.

That's when he realizes this isn't a self-given break from training, or even an exercise in "asserting his freedom", Skywalker has actually betrayed them.

This is an _escape._

He's turned his back on his training. Dooku isn't surprised when he feels the bond severing. He stands and makes toward the hanger bay.

"So be it, Vader. So be it."

* * *

AN: First off, I want to apologize to AndrossKenobi, whom I told that the next chapter would be up on Monday barring unforseen circumstances. Sadly, there were unforseen circumstances. I got sick, I had to write a paper, exams, the whole shebang came crashing down and this got shoved to the back burner. I'm really excited for the next chapter though, because that is going to entail Obi Wan and Padme arguing. ^_^ Poor Ani'll just have to sit through it.

Anyways: what I really want to talk about is Obidala. Romance wise, there won't be any. Besides my reluctance to tackle such a delicate pairing, the real reason is because Obi Wan practically raised her. When he looks into her face, all he's going to see is the scared little girl he met and took care of, not the attractive woman she grew into. So that's why there won't be any romantic Obidala. He's just that much older than her. However, if you like friendshipy brother/sister Obidala or just plain like watching the two characters interact, there'll be plenty of that.

If you liked it let me know! If you didn't, tell me what didn't work.

In short, review!

**To the Anonymous Reviewers: **

sporomogoose: I love that penname! And thank you for your kind review! I hope you like where I go with it

Darth Vadie: I promise to update M'Lord! Please don't Force-Choke me! o_O (read: thanks for your review. I'm glad you liked it!)


	3. Four Kriffin' Hours

A cantina is the last place Dooku wants to be. In fact, his one and only comfort is imagining the horrors he can put Skywalker through for making him enter here. Those with no self control linger at the bar and make love to thier liquor, those addicted to pleasure cosy on up to the most attractive members of the spice and drink addicts. Dooku can feel the sticky substance of spilt drink under his boots, even if he can't see it in the badly lit bar. In all the galaxy, there's never been a more wretched hive of scum and villany, which is exactly what he needs to find.

Vader is rash, impulsive, foolish, and to top it all off he's naive, a mere fifteen-years-old. But he's not stupid. Why he chose to run from unlimited power and wealth is beyond Dooku, but irrelevant. Anakin is already off planet, of this he is certain, and without the bond (which Anakin had the forethought to break, blast him) Dooku has no means with which to track him. And so he must assemble back up and search the old fashioned way. And the best way to find a good bounty hunter is through word of mouth in a cantina.

He coerces a few smugglers, a few spice dealers, until one in particular catches his interest.

"I'm tellin' ya, that Ventress broad. Best you'll ever get. May not look all too useful as bounty hunters go, but there's something queer about her." His disreputable companion, a smuggler of spice for the wealthy addict, leans in so Dooku can smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Her reactions...her reasons for not taking a certain route, for knowing where to look for people, their quick. Too quick. It's almost as if she has a sort of sixth sense to see things before they happen." The smuggler sits back with a smug smile on his face, wiping his greasy hair out of his eyes.

Perfect, a Force- sensative. He'll need a few more, a team really, but someone has to be a leader.

"Give me her contact."

XXX

Four hours. Four kriffin' hours.

How did anyone continue talking for that long? Didn't they get tired, thirsty? But they don't even seem to register the passing of time, they're still as strong as when they first started agruing. The only sign of any weariness comes from The General himself when he combs his hair out of his eyes and sighs. He wears a look Anakin might imagine an older brother wearing when trying to explain to his little sister exactly why she had been bad, and trying to deny the fact that he's going to end up helping her anyway.

He wishes that moment would come sooner.

At least the General had let him sit down once they polished off that first hour. He hadn't even really seen the Jedi move his hand, but one strand of the Force pulled a chair up against his calves, as if to say, _have a seat, you'll be here a while._

The General wasn't exactly what he'd thought he'd be. To be frank, he didn't even know what he had expected. Someone with bulging muscles perhaps? Or too intellegent eyes, maybe even an old body hiding a mastermind in its skull.

The General himself is about Anakin's height (1), with a reddish beard and hair, and bright blue eyes. He is very young. Far too young in Anakin's opinion. He is older than Padme though, and she isn't much older than himself. Aparently, the Rebellion doesn't believe in childhood, but then again, neither do Sith Lords.

Padme had somehow snuck him into the base. A few members who seemed to know he was on their side (mostly) greeted her at one of the enterances and gave him a sympathetic look, (now he knows why). They'd tiptoed their way to the General's quaters because Padme had "forgotten" to mention that she was bringing the demon child the Sith were raising to the Rebel Base.

When they'd arrived, General Kenobi hadn't even looked fazed. He'd simply stood and ignited a bright blue saber (which instantly terrified Anakin, and facinated him too because he's only ever seen a red lightsaber). He smiled pleasantly up at Padme, who was now holding his hand tightly and standing slightly in front of him, (he hadn't liked that, much. You can't protect somone standing in front of you. But Padme _had _said that she and the General were best friends...).

"Always a pleasure to see you, Padme. I hope your trip back was safe. Kindly move away so that I may capture our young friend here?" the tone was pleasant although the voice dripped with venom. Anakin hadn't heard an accent quite like that before either.

Padme had simply held up his red lightsaber as evidence.

XXX

"You s_ay_ he's turned from the dark, Padme, but you don't _understand._ You don't just turn from the dark side. Not when you're a full-blown Sith Lord!"

"_Was_, Obi Wan. He _was_ a full-blown Sith Lord!"

He continues on as if she hadn't interrupted,

"It's never happened before."

Honestly, Padme had prepared herself for this argument, she being the only one who can take Obi Wan in straight-up debate, but she's getting tired. After all, four hours have gone by. Besides, poor Anakin (who's now slumped in a chair in the corner of the room) might decide Sith argue less and leave.

"And have many Sith expressed any desire to turn back? Have Sith given their lightsabers to Senators that they _know_ are spies for a Rebellion bent on taking them down? Anakin's _different._ He doesn't want the dark power any more!"

"Just because he doesn't want it, doesn't mean it's not inside him." She wonders if Obi Wan is even conscious of the fact that he tossed Anakin a slightly apologetic glance as he said that. That's her Obi Wan: apologizing for antagonizing Sith Lords. It's also her sign that he's starting to agree with her, if only slightly.

Now for her best argument, and something she thinks will be good for Anakin.

"That's why I brought him to you. You can pull it out of him. You've done it before."

She hates how that makes him looks so stricken. Absolutely hates it, how he flinches and flickers those expressive blue eyes away from her. But she hopes this will be for the best. There's no one she would trust more with Anakin's light side training.

And hopefully, this will be good for Obi Wan too. He needs to know that what happened on Theed, isn't the be all and end all. He needs to know that he's still light, and the light in him is stronger than anything dark.

Very gently she walks forward and places a hand on his arm.

"If you can pull the darkness out of yourself and become the best General, the best _Jedi_ the Rebellion's ever seen, then you can save him." Those tortured blue eyes lock on to hers.

"It's not that simple, Padme. And you're exaggerating."

She gives him a little shake, just a reminder that she's not going to fall for any distractions today, and she's not going to back down.

"Obi Wan, he can turn back. He needs you."

Obi Wan gazes over to the teenager who is suddenly sitting up a little straighter in his chair.

"He's already helped me get alot of the information I needed. That last mission you had to Telos? He was the one who let us know where the battalion squads were stationed so we could sneak in and steal those Death Star plans." (2)

To her surprise, she can tell Obi Wan is using the Force, whether to soothe the boy or to probe him for darkness, she cannot tell. All she knows is what she sees, and that's Ani's muscles relaxing and a look of wonderment stealing over his face.

"Is this what you want?" Obi Wan finally asks.

Anakin slowly nods his head.

"He can stay, Padme. But he's my responsibility now. I'll decide what we do with him."

* * *

AN: So Obi Wan took the baby Sith Lord off of Padme's well meaning but non-Force-sensitive hands.

Okay, the general consensus seems to be that Obidala is not welcome in this story, and quite frankly I'm glad that decision is supported! :D However, there will be romance. Not for a while at least, but Anakin and Padme...well there kind of Star Wars' Romeo and Juliet...Of course now Obi Wan has Anakin in his life too...so this story will contain a romance and a bromance!

On to the little notes:

(1) Remember that Anakin's only fifteen so he's not taller than Obi Wan yet...but he's getting there!

(2) More on that later

**To the anonymous reviewers:**

**Darth Vadie: **You have homework? Can't you just Force-choke the teachers that give it to you? (I hope you liked the debate. Padme's always seemed to me to be the only character who *might* be able to out argue The Negotiator. As for Dooku, well like all bad guys, he's forming a team of Super Villains!) Hope you enjoyed!

**angie:** Thank you so much! Padme is a postive influence on Anakin. Even in cannon it's only when he stops listening to her that he...well you know. Anyways, I always thought Obi Wan and Padme were an interesting pair, not romantically speaking, so I threw them together! :D Hope you enjoyed.

**Lanny: **It does indeed mean something to me! I'm sorry I made you wait so long, I just wanted to make sure everything came out the way I wanted it to! Hope you enjoyed!

If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't, tell me what bugged you. In short, Please Review! :D


	4. Guest in the Prison

Obi Wan studies the youth at his side as they walk to the Rebel Detention Center. The boy's about as tall as he is now, forshadowing a future, taller figure. He's got sharp blue eyes and a golden shock of curly hair, overall a sweet looking child. That's not what's interesting though, what's interesting is that when he told the boy to follow, he did. A step behind and to the left of Obi Wan, just the way a Jedi Padawan would follow his Master. It's possible that Sith adhere to this position as well, but Obi Wan doubts it.

He keeps his head down, but Obi Wan can see the wide eyes darting all over through the thick fringe. He's been quiet, and fantastically patient, but Obi Wan can tell that those traits aren't regularly part of his character. It's the rampant energy the boy gives off, the slight bounce in his step betraying his need for constant movement, that gives him away. Most unsettling of all, his the blue eyes forever drag back to Padme.

His Force-signature is what really intrigues Obi Wan, though. It literally _thrums_ with power, more than Obi Wan had thought possible previously. It may even be more powerful than Master Yoda. He'd have to do a midichlorian test to be sure.

The Rebellion would be stupid not to have an area where they keep prisoners. One guarded at all times. And although he knows Padme won't approve and that the boy might not understand, may even feel betrayed, he can't think of a safer place to store Padme's pet Sith Lord. Most members of the Alliance don't know about his previous helpfulness to Padme, and frankly, the idea of a Sith Lord, albeit a former and a baby one, running rampant around the Base scares him.

Commander Cody meets them at the entrance to the detention center.

"What've you got there, boss?"

For the love of the Force, he never could get Cody to stop calling him "boss". Most call him "General" with the exception of Padme and possibly Mace. But for a defected clone, the word "general" doesn't sit well. So no matter how uncivilized Obi Wan deems the term, "boss" is what he is to Cody.

Cody just stops and stares, recognition stealing slowly over his face. Anakin squirms under the intensity as the look turns into a glare and Obi Wan can't blame him. He just... he thinks this might be good for Anakin, if Cody can get over the animosity (and sheer oddity) of the situation, then maybe someone who also fled the Sith regime could help him cope.

"How did you manage to kidnap _him?"_

Obi Wan opens his mouth to respond but ever the bold one, Padme jumps up .

"I didn't _kidnap _him. He defected. I saved him."

To say that Cody looks skeptical would be more of an understatement than saying "Imperials don't like bright colors". His tawny brown eyes dart between Padme and the young Sith, and whether it's the Force or just the fact that he and Cody have been friends for a long time, Obi Wan knows that now is the time for intervention, before Cody says something damaging.

"Cody, I need a desk, a meditation mat, and a larger, more comfortable bed brought down to cell 44B" one of the biggest cells they have, normally reserved for two prisoners.

Obi Wan does not rule over Cody like the Emperor did, but no amount of time spent away from his original station can get Cody to stop taking orders very _very_ seriously. And part of it might be that he knows Obi Wan, and he knows explanations will come to him soon after.

"Yes sir, right away sir!" and Cody goes off, though not without a backwards glance of curiosity. Obi Wan'll be hearing about this from all over the Rebellion if he doesn't say something fast.

"Cody. Not a word."

That, at least, gets a semi-disrespectful cheeky grin out of Cody.

"Sure thing, boss."

Good, because Cody may be one of his best friends, but he's not about to trust him with the highly delicate explanation.

Now comes the hard part. With someone so obviously Force-attuned like Anakin, this might be something akin to torture, but he has no choice.

"You're going to have to have this injected. It's a Force-suppressant chip, but I control it. For training I'll be able to turn it off, enabling you to touch the Force."

"Obi Wan, you can't poss-" He holds up one palm, stalling her inevitable arguement. Of course Padme would object, but she doesn't realize what could happen were the Sith to harness that power and escape.

"I don't have a choice."

"The cell was one thing but now this? This is almost inhumane."

"You don't understand! If he were to try to escape-"

"He's not going to try to escap—"

"I'll do it!"

Anakin's words halt them both in their argument. It's the first time he's heard Anakin's voice, the tenor sounds gruff, a boy just beginning to become a man. He visibly deflates a bit when both Padme and him turn to stare, and Obi wan is suddenly struck by just how small his new charge is, just how much a _child._

"I'll take it. I'd...I'd do the same thing."

Not unkindly, Obi Wan takes the boys arm and injects the chip. The child doesn't even flinch, just jerks his arm around the shoulder.

"I don't feel any different." He says warily, still staring at his arm.

Obi Wan favors him with the tiniest of smiles.

"That's because I haven't activated it yet."

Turning around, Obi Wan punches in the code for Anakin's new room and they all enter.

"This is where you'll stay while you're here. You'll have a desk, a meditation mat, and a comlink that'll get you directly to me, anything you need and I'll be able to provide it for you."

The child raises an eyebrow.

"Anything I want?"

"Within reason."

"So I'm kind of like a guest?"

When all is said and done, yes. No other prisoners have such luxuries. Oh, the Rebel prisons are comfortable, there's no cruelty or neglect, but none have whatever they want at their beck and call. And if Obi Wan is going to start re-training this kid, he's not going to get anywhere by being cold. But that doesn't mean he can trust him. Regardless of Padme's opinion, he can't pretend that the kid's past is completely behind him. Not until he knows him better.

"You are a guest." Obi Wan finally clarifies slowly, "Just…in our prison."

AN: AWKWARD! Gah, this chapter...I feel like it's not as funny as the others, or as long. It''s just a baby chapter, more like a funny little interlude that I _probably_ didn't exactly need, but couldn't resist putting in. (I am so weak!) I'm partial to Obi Wan's last line, even if it's not as suave as he usually is. :P I apologize for not updating faster and for not including my band of Super Villians, but rest assured the next chapter will deal more with Dooku then it will with Ani, Obi, and Padme. For Cody, I realize Cody's more of the by-the-rules kinda guy, but I made him a bit rougher on the edges simply because he defected from the Empire and that changed him.

I adore feedback! If you liked it, let me know! If you didn't, tell me what bugged you. In short, please review!


	5. Trainees

**WARNING: **Veiled illusion to prostitution...

The inky blackness wraps him in it's gentle embrace as soon as he enters the ramshackle pile of sticks the bounty hunter called a "building". She's as cliche as they come, the best of the best hidden in an abandoned tower, surrounded by the dark.

He does have to give her credit though, were it not for the Force, he wouldn't have any clue she was even here. As it is, she's got flimsy sheilds surrounding her signature, though someone of his training can quite easily tell she's lurking in the fourth ceiling rafter from the door. And practically being a Master himself, he can also tell she's not totally dark. Her signature is slinky and slippery, but still having a light side core. All Force sensatives start light, but none but the cruel, harsh world can claim to have turned her dark.

"What is your business with me" Her voice rings out smooth and slippery and still not giving a non-Force sensative any more of a hint to her location. It sounds low and rough, as if she's been disguising it so long, she's forgotten what it's actually sounded like.

She's talented, but she's not up to the challenge of Anakin Skywalker, nowhere close, not yet. He leaps up to the rafter next to her.

"I would work with your potential." He whispers in her ear. She moves to leap away from him, but he captures her wrist in an iron grip, jerking her back to face him again and nearly knocking her to the ground far below.

She doesn't loose her seat and she doesn't panic, which earns her a small amount of respect from Dooku.

"I don't play this game anymore, handsome." She hisses at him, spitting the word 'handsome' out like a curse, "and even when I did, they paid _first_"

Dooku chooses to ignore that.

"My victim will be far more skilled at concealment then your pitiful display here. I would prepare you more thourougly." She moves to twist away from him again but he strengthens his hold. As he does though, he sees the barrel of a blaster pointed at his skull.

"You will be paid handsomly when you deliver him, _unharmed _and_ alive_." The pleasure of harming the brat will be entirely his, "and your feable skills with the Force will be much increased. I will make you the most powerful being-not just bounty hunter-in the galaxy."

A lie. Once she has located Vader, she will be entirely useless. Dooku may even kill her, but the promise of power to one who has been trampled upon, is more valuable than anything else he could ever offer.

"Think on it." He whispers as he slips a comm. unit into her palm. "A chance to rule over those who took advantage of your...state." He force pulls the blaster from her hand and deactivates the detonator she planned on throwing his way.

"I will give you more necessary training when I hear your answer." He leaps in the air and Iets the dark of the night swallow him whole

ooOO00OOoo

It's not the new...arrangements that are troubling Anakin per say.

It's not even the fact that he's in a prison cell, albeit a clean, large, tastefully furnished one. He honestly predicted as much, even before Padme told him that she hadn't told the Rebellion about his help in the past.

No it's not any of that, it's just the simple fact that he's somewhere new. He's never been anywhere but with Dooku and Palpatine and while he does not _miss _either of them, it's still odd not to have them close. A relief, yes. But odd.

And the future is not predictable or reliable either. At any time the General could burst in here and throw him out, even kill him. General Kenobi had the power to do that. But, hopefully, not for long, Anakin's growing in power. He already had enough to escape two of the most powerful Sith Lords.

Anakin groans. It wouldn't be so bad, if he could just kriffin' _go to sleep_! He hasn't truly slept in _days_ simply because planning an escape from under said powerful Sith Lords' noses had taken up all his free time, including that which he slept in. And now, trapped by the Rebellion with the uncertain future before him hopefully leading to the Light, it's hard to turn off his brain and sleep.

He doesn't really know what the Light is, he's never really experienced it, not with the Force. All he really knows is that it exists and that is solely based on his experience with Padme.

It was her Force signature that got his attention all those years ago. He couldn't have been more than nine-years-old when she joined the Senate. He had been privy to the Senate meetings for years before that, his job being to Force-choke any Senators who spoke out against Palpatine. A training exercize in stealth. He sensed a presence that just felt...different from the others. One that shone. And when he'd located it's owner, he was surprised to find a girl not much older than him, sitting quietly and anonymously in one of the Senatorial pods.

She was new, and forbidden, and interesting. Such qualities beckoned a young Anakin Skywalker to her side.

And then today, after the never-ending arguement between Padme and the General, Kenobi had invaded his mind. He'd just poured some sort of feeling over Anakin. A use of the Force completely foreign to him. It had felt impossibly good. Pure and clean. Light.

His responce to the General's gentle queary had been almost immediate after that. A taste of all he'd been wishing for since he met Padme.

"Take a rest Cody, I'll take it from here."

Not even twelve hours with the Rebels and already he recognizes that voice. It's timber gentle and formal as it relieves Cody of his duties.

The General doesn't turn to look at him, probably thinking he's asleep. Or not, because a wave of compassion and peace floods Anakin, and with his emotions and anxieties running amuck, it couldn't have come from him.

The Force signature of the General flares in Anakin's awareness. It's different from Padme's, brighter, and less harmless. Like Dooku, The General literally thrums with power. It's different though, not harnessed,but more like its washing over Kenobi. The Force is literally dancing around the General and from him, over to Anakin.

Anakin, who has no more time to ponder this, as he is lulled into a deep dreamless sleep.

AN: Weeeellllll...I have none but the usual excuse...work...musical practice...work...nanny-ing...that and I just suck. Sorry! I'll try to update faster. Really!


	6. Trainees 2 Light and Dark

"You're as short sighted and predictable as a child. Again!"

Ventress looks around the dingy building where she had given her affirmative answer to the mysterious old man promising power. She's hungry, tired, frustrated, and half rethinking her decision.

But the allure of finally being on top is too tantalizing to pass up.

Letting out a long harsh breath, she wipes the sweat from her brow with her forearm and scans the building yet again.

"No! NO! NO! Not with your eyes! Feel me! Find me!"

She can feel him sometimes, in that weird, extra sort of sense she has that others (with the apparent exception of this man) lack. He's cold, absolutely freezing. His...essense? presence? signature? Is an inky black hole that Ventress feels, were she to focus on completely, would swallow her up. It's not all unfamiliar though. Many that she associates with, many that employ her, and many that she hunts have a similar feeling about them. She's just never felt one so...focused? repulsive?

Dark.

She's never felt one so dark before.

A swooshing sound of a body leaping toward her is all the warning she gets and it's nowhere near enough. The inexplicably spry old man is suddenly standing right beside her and has already administered another substantial burn on her arm with his blood red lightsaber. She's having trouble ignoring the throbbing pain and hisses through her teeth.

"You're waiting for it." His deep, sophisticated voice rings out in the deserted room, giving her no indication where he might be lurking. "This is your power! Take it and wield it!"

Another swoosh, another buzz, another hit, and then her benefactor is once again lost in the inky blackness of the building, having again administered his bitter pill.

"Perhaps I was wrong about you. Perhaps the gutter is where you belong since you obviously lack the wits necessary to grasp this simple concept."

Alone, fearful, and about to collapse from exhaustion and injury, Ventress feels white hot anger bubble up in her stomach and release itself through her mouth in a wild, desperate cry.

The next thing she knows is that she's somehow perched up in the rafters next to her trainer, a blaster at his temple.

He sneers, "well, now we're getting somewhere."

XXXXX

"Try to stop squirming, Anakin."

Twelve times and counting the General has said the like, and still Anakin finds it facinating that the command remains just as gentle and patient as the intial one. How? Surely he must be wearing on the Generals nerves by now? He's certainly already worn out his own.

It's just that he can't sit still, not when he's somewhere _new_.

The General is sitting across from him in a padded private room of the Rebel Base. There's only one in the whole place, but Anakin knows a practice room when he sees one. The scorch marks that could only be made using a lightsaber are evidence enough.

Anakin had, upon entering, been excited. Lightsaber practice is one of his favorite training excersizes and it could be a way to prove himself. Both dark and light Force-users used lightsabers and Anakin had supposed that fighting, light or dark, was relatively the same.

However, General Kenobi had simply walked to the center of the room, sat cross-legged on the floor and shut his eyes, all the while instructing Anakin to do the same.

So here Anakin sits, figiting madly and trying his hardest not to be distracted only to be told in that infuriartingly calm voice _not _to be distracted, and of course getting more and more frustrated the more he fails.

"Just calm dow-"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

The Generals blue eyes open, they don't snap open like he's shocked or angry, they just open quietly and focus all their sharp, disappointed attention on Anakin. (1)

He, in turn, shuts his own eyes, trying to hide.

He hears a soft sigh.

"You just need to calm down. You're trying to bend the Force to your will. You're grabbing it. Try letting it come to you."

Anakin keeps his eyes closed but relaxes a little, letting the Force go, but not quite distracting himself from it's presence.

It comes slowly at first, but gradually that same sort of feeling he got from The General at the end of his arguement with Padme creeps into his soul. He's used to grabbing the Force, Dooku had told him it was his power to wield. Kenobi had said to stop trying to reach for it and instead to let it reach for you. And so he tries.

The Force feels different though, cleaner and brighter, but wilder, something far too big for him to ever have full control over. Tentatively, he reaches out with it, not the way he did before, as if he were picking up a tool, but more as if he were taking someone's hand.

Anakin is far too engrossed in his exploration of this new feeling in the Force to notice that the older man has given him a tiny smile.

XXXXX

(1) My incredibly snarky choir instructer has told me how he employs a similar technique. I believe his exact words were, "just look at them with understanding but the with the slightest hint of disappointment." Apparently its an effective way of making students behave. *shrugs*

Oh I have been away for far_, far_ to long! GAH! I had rotten semester filled with money troubles and no free time for the LadySaxophone. Word to the wise? Never, _ever_ apply and train for a new job mid-semester.

But I'm back now! Sort of, at least. Here's hoping next semester will allow me to write more often. I am an avid hater of long delays in stories I follow and so I must apologize profusely and beg your forgiveness!

Until the next update, lovely readers and as always:

If you liked it, let me know! If you didn't, tell me what bugged you. In short, please review!


End file.
